August 23, 2004
Salmon Mousse, American Style
Yesterday it warmed up a little, so I was looking for a cold dish to serve. I was starving, so a salad just wouldn't do. Then I got a craving for salmon mousse. Except my husband doesn't eat gelatin because it comes from a hooved animal. Don't get me started on gelatin substitutes. It's just not the same.
So I did the all American thing and substituted cream cheese for the gelatin. My husband could not stop moaning with delight as he tasted the results. You can use canned salmon, but I opted to use poached wild salmon.
Here are the steps to reach to salmon bliss:
- Soften 2 packages of cream cheese; I did this while my fish was thawing
- Boil enough water to cover your salmon. I used a little over 2 lbs., skin still on. You can add some veggies; I used 1/4 cup of shredded carrot that was leftover from juicing. Celery is also good. When the water boils, carefully add the salmon, making sure it is entirely covered by the water and lower the heat to a gentle boil. Boil 8 to 10 minutes, or 8 minutes per inch of thickness until the salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
- While you're waiting for the water to boil, to your food processor add:
- One large onion (preferably white)
- 2 tbs dried dillweed
- Juice of one large lemon
- One ripe avocado, seeded, skinned, and loosely chopped
- Blend until smooth, you can leave the onion a bit chunky if you like. Place mixture into a large bowl with the softened cream cheese and beat with a fork until well blended and fluffy.
- Meanwhile, you should have the salmon in the poaching water by now. When it's done, lift it out of the water and onto a plate covered with a paper towel (optional, but makes clean up easy). Remove all the skin and fat, gently scraping with a fork or butter knife. Place the salmon in a colander and rinse with cold water, breaking it up with a fork as you do so.
Put the flaked salmon into the cream cheese mixture and mash with a potato masher until the salmon is in very small pieces and well incorporated into the other ingredients.
I served this with fresh green beans and couscous. You can also use it as a dip and serve with crackers or cut up vegetables. Get ready to become addicted!
This isn't going to win any points for being low fat, but I bet it would be okay for those on Atkins diets. Just eliminate the couscous or crackers and serve with cut up carrots, celery, and broccoli.
August 19, 2004
Carnival of Recipes?
Hmmm, not a bad idea... a Carnival of Recipes akin to the Carnival of the Capitalists and Vanities. I should hope we Deus bloggers could find something to contribute...
(via AV)
August 13, 2004
August 10, 2004
Chicken Provençal
Provençal is a French style of cooking (Provence: hint-hint). Provençal recipes often call for lots of olive oil, tomatoes, and garlic.
PANTRY RAID
2 tbsp of olive oil (extra virgin has a nicer flavor)
3/4 to 1lb of chicken breasts cut into thin strips (or buy chicken tenders-those work nicely, too).
One small onion
Garlic- as much as you like
6-8 small vine tomatoes
2 tbsp of chopped up parsley (fresh)
2 tbsp of capers (wash the briney water off)
1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
A pinch of fresh rosemary leaves
3-4 cups of cooked wide noodles. I like Fetuccine Alfredo (focus! focus!)...
Voulez-Vous Cuisiner Avec Moi?
Get a large skillet and heat up the olive oil over medium fire.
Cook the chicken in the skillet until golden (4-5 minutes).
Add onions and then the garlic. Let cook for another 4 minutes. I have an olive oil spray, so I moisten up the skillet.
Stir in tomatoes, parsley, capers, vinegar, and rosemary. The tomatoes are pretty juicy, so there should be a shallow broth in the skillet now. Let everything cook over a low fire for about 8-10 minutes.
Put the noodles on a plate and then spoon your chicken mixture over the pasta. Add a little salt and pepper and you're all set.
Enjoy in good company!
Adapted from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. Yeah, McGyva is back on a diet. My pizza dialing days are gone.
August 09, 2004
Hamburger Stuffed Peppers
Hamburger Stuffed Peppers
An easy recipe that looks colorful and tastes amazing.
Yesterday McGyva and I had a small barbecue and found ourselves with some leftover ground beef. The meat was seasoned very nicely and I thought that I could probably come up with something a little different for dinner tonight.
PANTRY RAID
You'll need:
9 1/2 ozs of seasoned ground beef (season as you would for a hamburger patty- or you can be complicated like me: I use black pepper, worcestershire sauce, garlic, breadcrumbs, and a bit of salt and a pinch of sugar)
1 cup of cooked white rice (basmati or jasmine)
1 small onion- chopped up
1/4 cup cooked peas
1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp of tomato paste
3 minced garlic cloves
A generous pinch of all of the following: thyme, sage, rosemary. Get fresh herbs, if possible.
5-6 small peppers- any color is fine. Cut tops off and seed them.
Tomato sauce- a few spoonfuls.
Dr. Pepper's Orders
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You should now mix these ingredients in a large bowl: beef, rice, onion. peas. cheese, tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Really mix well so that ingredients are evenly distributed.
Spoon mixture into hollowed peppers until topped off.
Arrange the stuffed peppers in a casserole (you want something tall) and pour water into the casserole until 1/4 of the peppers' sides are surrounded by water.
Spoon tomato sauce over peppers, cover with foil and stick in the oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, uncover the casserole, spoon some more tomato sauce over peppers (I actually didn't- I'm not that bananas about tomato sauce- but I was tempted to add more Parmesan. Alas- I didn't...) and continue baking for 20 additional minutes.
After cooking, let stand for about 5 minutes. Then, go stuff yourself (ha ha...).
Enjoy in good company!